City of Mandurah mayoral candidate Rhys Williams is promising to “break the mould” on political campaigns and has refitted a caravan with the aim of having 1000 cups of tea with voters before council elections in October.
Mr Williams, who is the chief executive of non-profit organisation The Makers, said the way campaigns are usually run seemed outdated.
Instead of pushing his ideas on to the community, he was more interested in listening to what people had to say about the City of Mandurah.
“I wanted to run a campaign in a way that reflects the way I would want to lead this City, which starts with a commitment to engaging and connecting with people about what is important to them, not what is important to me,” he said.
“It is easy for candidates to just make assumptions about what people care about, and then go out there and tell you what they think will win your vote, but I really feel that if we’re serious about shaping a new story for Mandurah and its future, we need to be absolutely committed to engaging the community, really getting a feel for what is important and the struggles that people are facing, as well as hearing people’s ideas on how we can tackle the challenges that we face.”
He said he would be driving his newly refitted campaign caravan to different locations around the City and hosting what he described as “CommuniTea” events, encouraging voters to “have a cuppa and talk about what matters to them in terms of Mandurah and its future”.
“With some of the big challenges Mandurah will face over the coming decade, the mayor’s position is too important to be about ceremony and ribbon cutting,” he said.
“It has to be about working alongside the community to get stuff done, and to lead a bold vision for Mandurah’s future, so if I’m going to ask people to vote for me, the least I can do is get out and talk about what that should look like.”
The City of Mandurah elections for mayor and six councillors will be held by postal ballot and end on October 21.
